By Ed Sueta, Jr.
The majority of problems faced by recorder students (and young music students in general) can be traced to difficulties with reading rhythms. If they are able to read rhythm patterns and notes, they will have great success and great fun!
Rhythm Charts are an excellent tool to engage students and help them develop the music reading skills they will need to start their journey in K-2, for recorder and beyond in band, chorus and orchestra. Rhythm Charts can be used very effectively for home assignments remote teaching, if necessary, and in person classroom use. Rhythm charts can be particularly valuable when recorder playing is limited or prohibited. If you are able to play in class, you will have an even wider range of options.
Enter (with a flourish of trumpets or maybe a flourish of recorders) – Rhythm Charts!! Almost all teachers use rhythm charts in some form. If you tap or sing a rhythm to your students, they will usually be able to repeat it. If you write the rhythm they repeated, they will be amazed at what they have accomplished.
It is the labeling of that rhythm that can be the challenge. You can select a syllable system of your choice or use numbers and word cues can be very helpful. There are a variety of syllable systems and everyone has their favorite. My Dad, Ed Sueta, Sr., developed a syllable system that uses Too for quarter notes and Ta (pronounced Tuh) for eighth notes. Sixteenth notes are T. It is worth noting that while numbers are necessary for subdivision and place the beat in the measure, they do not aid in the production of sound. Also, younger students sometimes initially respond better to syllables or word cues like state or animal names or pie syllables in preparation for learning numbers.
Regardless of the type of rhythm charts you use, you will want to encourage your students to linearly scan the notes which is how they will ultimately read music – in groups of notes and patterns. You can use a pointer, laser light or other device that will make the students use linear scanning to read the notes. When students are confident rhythm readers, the sky’s the limit.
We use rhythm charts in our curriculum in a variety of contexts. Rhythm Pies uses pie syllables like cher-ry for eighth notes and pie for quarter notes. A book of rhythm charts by my Dad helps students advance their skills by tapping and playing rhythms to background accompaniments. For the online version of Be A Recorder Star, we developed “Follow the Bouncing Star” Rhythm Charts. The Star Rhythm Charts complete with smiling stars provide students with a visual count off by flashing and then bouncing across the page. Students visually follow the stars as they bounce onto the notes and rests. You may want to name the star as a school mascot or in honor of the student of the week. Kids get a big kick out of it when the star is named after them.
There are a variety of fun ways to use rhythm charts. You can have your students clap a line. They can take their cleaning rods (a/k/a rhythm rods) and tap a line. (The cleaning rod can also double as a conductor’s baton). You can have your students play the first line on B, the second line on A and the third line on G. If students cannot play in class, they can still play at home. Play, clap or tap the charts backwards or from top to bottom and then bottom to top. The Be A Recorder Star Rhythm Charts have tempo controls so you can increase the speed of the bouncing star and challenge your students. You can similarly have your students play, clap or sing charts at an increasing tempo. Challenge them to see how fast or how slow they can go!
Using rhythm instruments is another fun option. You can play rhythm charts either with handheld rhythm instruments (preferably without much duration) or barred instruments. You can assign a note or notes in a chord to different sections of the room and play the charts on those assigned notes. You may wish to have one student tap the beat in time on a wood block or barred rhythm instrument. If you are not permitted to play recorders in class, some districts are still allowing the use of rhythm instruments. Be A Recorder Star has both unpitched rhythm instrument accompaniments and Orff Orchestrations for the songs. There are also 50 embedded Play-Along Accompaniments. If you are not permitted to play recorder in class, you still may be able to play different versions of the orchestrations with the Play-Along Accompaniments.
We know that this year continues to be a challenge! As musicians, we must be creative and improvise. For a free trial of the online version of Be A Recorder Star, please contact us.
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